What is the meaning of Exodus 24:6? Half of the blood taken “Moses took half of the blood…” (Exodus 24:6) • The blood of the sacrificed oxen (Exodus 24:5) is immediately set apart, pointing to the truth that “the life of a creature is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). • By taking only half, Moses prepares for two complementary actions—one directed toward God, the other toward the people—anticipating Hebrews 9:18-20, where the covenant is likewise inaugurated “not without blood.” • The division highlights covenant balance: God’s holiness must be satisfied, and His people must be cleansed (1 Peter 1:2). • In Genesis 15:9-10, God had Abram divide the sacrifice; here the pattern is repeated with blood, reinforcing that covenants are sealed through life-given life. Placed in bowls “…and put it in bowls…” • The collected blood is preserved for a deliberate, future act (Exodus 24:8). Nothing about the covenant is haphazard; everything is purposeful. • Bowls often serve as vessels of worship and intercession. Revelation 5:8 pictures “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints,” reminding us that covenant fellowship leads to ongoing communion. • The careful handling underscores reverence. Compare Leviticus 4:5-7, where the priest “shall take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar… and pour out the rest at the base,” demonstrating orderly obedience. • God teaches His people to treat holy things with weighty respect (Numbers 7:13-14). The other half splattered on the altar “…and the other half he splattered on the altar.” • The altar represents God’s presence and justice. By splattering blood on it, Moses dedicates the place of sacrifice itself, as seen later in Exodus 29:16 and Leviticus 8:15. • This act proclaims that atonement begins with God: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). • The altar-side application foreshadows Christ, whose blood was offered “through the eternal Spirit… to cleanse our conscience” (Hebrews 9:13-14). • It also pictures reconciliation: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). • By visibly marking the altar, Israel learns that every approach to God must pass through substitutionary sacrifice. summary Exodus 24:6 shows Moses dividing the sacrificial blood: half reserved in bowls for covenant sprinkling, half cast upon the altar to consecrate worship and satisfy God’s holiness. The scene teaches that covenant relationship rests on shed blood—life given for life—pointing ahead to the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, who fulfills both sides of the covenant and opens the way for His people to draw near with confidence. |
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